The A-4
Skyhawk proved a great success as a light bomber over North
Vietnam for both the Navy and USMC. This Hasegawa model represents BU#
155010 from VA-55, the "Warhorses" aboard the USS Hancock during
the 1968 WestPac cruise. VA-55 served on the Hancock from July 1968 to
October 1975 on six different WestPac cruises. For some great photos, see http://www.skyhawk.org/3e/va55/va55p.htm.
I built this
model for my dad, a white-shirt "troubleshooter" who
worked on the flight deck of the Hancock on two WestPac cruises to the
Tonkin Gulf from 1970-1972. He repaired avionics on A-4s and F-8s and
recalls the long days of intense combat in Spring 1972 where planes
from the Hancock were dropping 900 to 1,000 500-lb bombs per day over
North Vietnam.
Click on
images below to see larger images
I highly recommend the 1/48 Hasegawa version of the
A-4E/F! The detail in the rivet lines and landing-gear plumbing is
incredible. Hopefully I've captured that in my photographs. The
pieces fit together like a charm. One note: don't spend too much
time detailing the cockpit panel, since it's completely hidden
beneath the instrument cover. You'll have to shine a flashlight on it to
see it.
Everything is out of the box except the decals, which
are from Superscale.
Jason
|